Monday, September 16, 2013

departure from Wellington to the Boer War


An artwork in the Illustrated London News of 9 December 1899, showing a fleet of "twenty steam ships" - every one of which had a band on board - in Wellington Harbour to celebrate the departure of the New Zealand contingent to South Africa aboard the Waiwera to teach the Boers not to insult the glory of the British Empire.

The ships that departed the harbour 15 years later taking NZ servicemen to the next big imperial stoush known as World War 1 are the subject of our new book Voyage to Gallipoli.

1 comment:

Wallace said...

There is certainly alot of work in this illustration, however it bemused me to think how all the pilots and masters would cope with so many craft going in all directions?.A bit like a traffic free for all. Interesting pic though and good to have captured that event.